UK life

SOFA basics

Updated 17 October 2026

This is general information, not official guidance. It is not affiliated with, or endorsed by, the Department of Defense, any U.S. military service, or any base office. Rules change. Use the official page linked in each section.

Quick summary

SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) is the 1951 agreement among the North Atlantic Treaty (NATO) countries, including the US and the UK. It sets the rules for one member's troops and families based in another member's country, as US forces are in the UK: entry papers, driving permits, which courts handle a crime, damage claims, tax on pay and personal belongings, and bringing those belongings in free of duty.
A service member enters without a passport or visa only by showing an identity card and movement orders when asked, and a family member's passport has to say they are a family member.
For a service member or a civilian employee of the force, the UK either accepts the driving permit the sending country issued, including a military permit, with no test and no fee, or issues a UK permit with no test.
If a service member breaks UK law during official duty, or only against the US force, another member, or a family member, US military authorities have the first right to handle it, and UK authorities have the first right for any other crime.
If a service member damages a person or their property in the UK while on official duty, the UK handles that claim the way it handles claims against its own forces, and if the act was not official duty a UK court can still hear it until the claim is paid in full.
The UK does not tax the pay the US gives a service member or civilian employee for that job, or movable belongings that are here only because of the stay, and that stay alone does not make them a resident for a tax that depends on where you live.
A service member or civilian employee can bring personal belongings and furniture in free of duty on first arrival, or when a family member first arrives to join them, but UK customs can still search people, bags, and cars.

SOFA means Status of Forces Agreement. The wording below is from the United Kingdom command paper for the 1951 agreement and from a United States Department of State status table. It is not a complete reading of either document.

The 1951 agreement

GOV.UK publishes the Agreement regarding the status of forces of parties to the North Atlantic Treaty, done in London on 19 June 1951. That page says the United Kingdom ratification was deposited on 13 May 1954. The same command paper, Cmd. 9363, is in the FCDO treaty library as Treaty Series No. 3 (1955). The article wording on this page is from that copy.

The Department of State status table, dated as most recently acted on 3 July 2024, uses the title Agreement Between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Regarding the Status of Their Forces. It says the agreement was done at London on 19 June 1951 and entered into force on 23 August 1953. The table lists the United Kingdom as signed on 19 June 1951, with consent to be bound on 13 May 1954 and entry into force on 12 June 1954. It lists the United States as signed on 19 June 1951, with consent to be bound on 24 July 1953 and entry into force on 23 August 1953. Use that table if those dates change.

The command paper's opening says a force of one party may be sent, by arrangement, to serve in the territory of another party, and that the agreement defines the status of such forces. Conditions that are not in the agreement stay in separate arrangements between the parties.

Article I uses these meanings:

A force is personnel belonging to the land, sea, or air armed services of one party, when in the territory of another party in the North Atlantic Treaty area in connection with their official duties. The two parties may agree that certain individuals, units, or formations are not a force for this agreement.
A civilian component is civilian personnel accompanying a force who are employed by an armed service of that party. The article excludes stateless persons, nationals of a state that is not a party to the North Atlantic Treaty, and nationals of, or people ordinarily resident in, the state where the force is located.
A dependent is the spouse of a member of a force or of a civilian component, or a child of such a member depending on that member for support.
The sending state is the party to which the force belongs. The receiving state is the party in whose territory the force or civilian component is located, whether stationed there or passing in transit.

Article II says it is the duty of a force, its civilian component, the members, and their dependents to respect the law of the receiving state, and to abstain from any activity inconsistent with the spirit of the agreement, in particular political activity in the receiving state. It also says it is the duty of the sending state to take necessary measures to that end.

Article III, paragraph 1, says that on the conditions in paragraph 2, and subject to the receiving state's formalities for entry and departure, members of a force shall be exempt from passport and visa regulations and immigration inspection. They shall also be exempt from the receiving state's rules on registration and control of aliens. They shall not be considered as acquiring any right to permanent residence or domicile.

Paragraph 2 says the documents required for members of a force, which must be presented on demand, are a personal identity card issued by the sending state and an individual or collective movement order. The receiving state may require that movement order to be countersigned by its representative. Paragraph 3 says members of a civilian component and dependents shall be so described in their passports. Read the whole article in the command paper before you travel.

The same command paper covers the other rules families ask about. The sentences below are from that copy. They are not the whole of each article.

Article IV says the receiving state must either accept, with no driving test and no fee, the driving permit, licence, or military driving permit that the sending state issued to a member of a force or a civilian component, or issue its own permit to that person with no driving test.

Article VII says the sending state's military authorities have criminal and disciplinary jurisdiction over people subject to that state's military law, and the receiving state has jurisdiction over members of a force or civilian component and their dependents for offences in its territory that its own law punishes. Where both may act, the sending state has the primary right when the offence was in the performance of official duty, or was solely against that state's property or security, or solely against another member or a dependent. The receiving state has the primary right for any other offence.

Article VIII says a third-party claim for damage in the receiving state, caused by a member of a force or civilian component in the performance of official duty, is handled by the receiving state under the rules it uses for claims against its own armed forces. A claim from an act that was not part of official duty is assessed by the receiving state, and the sending state then decides whether to offer a payment. Until that payment is made in full, the receiving state's courts can still hear the case.

Article X says time in the receiving state only as a member of a force or civilian component does not count as residence for a tax that depends on residence or domicile. Those members are exempt there from tax on the salary and emoluments the sending state pays them as members, and on tangible movable property that is there only because of that temporary stay. The article does not stop tax on a separate business.

Article XI says members of a force and of a civilian component, and their dependents, remain subject to the receiving state's customs laws, including searches of people, luggage, and vehicles. A member may import personal effects and furniture free of duty at the first arrival to take up service, or when a dependent first arrives to join that member, for the term of the service. Goods imported free of duty are not normally to be sold or given away in the receiving state.

United Kingdom law

The UK statute is the Visiting Forces Act 1952 on legislation.gov.uk. Its long title is about naval, military, and air forces of certain other countries visiting the United Kingdom. Section 9A, on claims against visiting forces, defines "the Agreement" as the Agreement between the Parties to the North Atlantic Treaty Regarding the Status of their Forces, done in London on 19 June 1951. The Act also has a section on powers of service courts and authorities of sending countries, and a section on United Kingdom courts not trying someone already tried by a visiting force's service court. Read those sections on that site. This page does not restate the procedure.

More in this set

Suggest a correction Never include personal info like your SSN or DoD ID.

Questions

Which agreement is the SOFA text on this page?

The agreement done in London on 19 June 1951. The wording is from UK command paper Cmd. 9363. The State Department table lists the United Kingdom and the United States. The UK statute is the Visiting Forces Act 1952.

Does Article III mean you never need a passport?

No. For members of a force, the exemption depends on paragraph 2 and on the receiving state's entry formalities. Paragraph 3 says civilian-component members and dependents are described in their passports.